Guam Animals In Need recently received a $20,000 donation from the Dr. Lynn Raulerson Trust to celebrate the one year anniversary of the opening of its community spay/neuter clinic. The clinic, located at the GAIN animal shelter in Yigo, offers low-cost spay/neuter services for cats and dogs and is open to the public.
Over the past year the clinic has operated under the oversight of Dr. Hinatsu and Dr. Flanagan. Their dedication, along with the generosity of four on-island volunteer veterinarians (from both on and off base), and visiting veterinarians from Humane Society International, has allowed the clinic to grow and provide a much-needed community service.
Since its first day of operation on November 30, 2016, the clinic has spayed and neutered over 1,300 dogs and cats. “We are very excited about the clinic’s success so far and look forward to continuing to go strong with our surgery numbers. This is a great opportunity to help your own pet, a community pet, and the island as a whole,” said Alison Hadley, Director of GAIN.
The clinic is named in honor of Dr. Lynn Raulerson, who was a professor of biology at the University of Guam for over 40 years and a sincere animal advocate. “Dr. Raulerson loved animals tremendously and left a generous trust to improve the lives of dogs and cats on Guam,” said Samantha Mullen, Spay Neuter Island Pets (SNIP) Program Coordinator. “We are so proud and honored to be carrying out her wishes and to have her name on our clinic,” she continued.
This is the second large donation by the trust to GAIN this year, following a $50,000 donation in June to help expand the clinic’s capacity. “We’re honored to continue Dr. Raulerson’s legacy by providing this service to the community,” said GAIN Board President, Cyrus Luhr.